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Comment by Someone1234 | Hacker News Reader

> Powerful performance—4x the storage and 2x the memory of Chromecast, plus a dual-core processor and 1 GB of memory.

This one line shows that they really don't "get" the appeal of a Chromecast. Even as a techie I really don't care what specs a Chromecast has, I just want it to "just work" and it does "just work."

If Amazon's one "just works" then that is good. But the fact they're trying to shove too much into it (games, remote, tons of apps, etc) suggests to me that they're over-thinking it and it will require more prodding.

Chromecast does one thing and it does it REALLY well (and inexpensively). More companies could learn a thing or two.

PS - Amazon locking Amazon Digital into their own devices is pathetic. All it does is decrease the value of their own services, it doesn't increase the value of their hardware.

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Yeah exactly, to me the Chromecast is one of the first digital devices I've owned that I really don't care at all about the specs. It kind of reminds me a bit of radio, I have a vague idea about how the media is delivered (broadcast, frequency whatever), but I honestly don't know or care how my radio works, just that it does.

Not sure what you mean by "Amazon Digital". If you mean their digital movies and books, then you are incorrect. I use them on a variety of devices including a roku and a non-amazon tablet.

When Amazon first did Prime instant video it was widely available including the then popular Roku. Since then they have been actively rolling that back, so few new types of devices released have included it.

They're trying to make it a Fire exclusive service, they're just doing the slow-lobster-pot approach of slowing cutting more and more devices out, and adding more Fire hardware to their lineup.

Totally agree. I don't want Chromecast to do anything except put what is on my phone or browser on my TV, which it does really well. I don't want another remote!

I feel the same way about most Android to iOS comparisons.

Nope, sorry, not seeing that. Apple takes every opportunity to shove spec down our throats ("Retina HD display," "first 64 bit phone," "A8 chip," "motion processor," etc).

Back when the iPhone first got released it was all about the UX and they were very careful to avoid specs. This was a Jobs inspired strategy that was very effective at conveying the product's feel over its power.

However, and for a while now, Apple has become just as specs obsessed as Android and are letting the product's feel/UX fall by the wayside.

Just look at their main iPhone page: https://www.apple.com/iphone-6/

It is primarily about specs (screen, processor, etc). Heck the entire iPhone 6 product is about power/performance/bigger-is-better.

With the original iPhone's marketing, the question implicitly being asked and answered was "how is the iPhone better than my feature phone / BlackBerry?"

With the iPhone 6's marketing, the question implicitly being asked and answered is "how is the iPhone 6 better than my current iPhone?"

At this point, there aren't that many potential iPhone 6 customers in the US who still don't know what iOS feels like.

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